Half Time Ghouls
by GreyLiliy
Summary: On an away game to New Salem, Danny wanders away from the rest of the school. When his ghost sense goes off, he finds himself meeting a couple friendly ghosts from, get this! A school just for monsters!
1. Chapter 1

**PhannieMay15 Day #18 - Crossover**

* * *

 _I was going crazy trying to think of another crossover for Danny Phantom that wasn't Gravity Falls or Supernatural (both things I like, but a lot of others have done it, too), and Rothinsel suggested Monster High and I went "DOH!" because I adore Monster High and it has a ton of ghosts. Like, their latest movie is Monster High: Haunted and was all about ghosts. XD Perfect crossover!_

* * *

 **Half Time Ghouls**

How Dash had dragged Danny to an away game he'd never know.

Danny sat on the bleachers, bored out of his mind watching the meat head football players run back and forth on the field. The rest of his school was right beside him on the "Away" side of the field, with Paulina and Star down front cheering and even the A-List's personal homework buddy scrawling away on the back bleacher.

Casper High vs New Salem High.

Biggest game of the year, and Dash and his squad had made it known that the _entire school_ had best be there to show their support on the bleachers.

Sam and Tucker had both gotten out of it, somehow, by merely slipping under the radar. Danny wasn't so lucky. He had gotten a personal invitation from his oh-so-persistent bully that he had better show up and if he didn't, Dash was going to pound him. That was his normal threat, but the look in his eyes told Danny not to risk it. And Dash would know if he wasn't there. He had a weird six-sense about him when it came to hunting down his favorite punching bag.

And it was hard to fight invading ghosts when you couldn't see straight.

"I'm so going to get Sam and Tucker for this," Danny muttered, pulling his jacket tighter around himself. The cold air nipped at every inch of him, and he counted down the minutes to when he could get back on the bus and leave. "Not that I can blame them."

As easily as Sam and Danny had once abandoned Tucker in his hospital bed with the broken leg and his affectionate roommate, Tucker and Sam had no problem doing the same to Danny and getting out of five hours of football.

Danny slumped on the bleacher, not even paying attention to the game or the score. He probably should though. If they lost Danny would be suffering Dash's wrath the entire bus ride home. If they won? He'd probably be ignored and that was as good as it got for him.

He rubbed his face and stood up.

"I had to come, but that doesn't mean I have to sit here," Danny mumbled to himself, shuffling to the side aisle and heading down the bleacher steps. The wind blew through his hair and he shivered in his jacket. He was half tempted to go ghost just to get out of the cold. "Maybe I should get a hot dog or something."

Danny trotted down to the concession stands located a the top of the field, where the students from both schools were milling about. They mostly kept to their own sides, but a few talked back and forth.

As he got in line for something hot to eat, Danny noticed a chipper brunette boy talking with a girl dressed all in black with a blue streak in her hair. He smiled, thinking of Sam, and when she turned to look away as the guy she was with ordered food something caught his eye.

Danny tapped her shoulder and said, "Excuse me."

"What?" The girl said, turning and lifting an eyebrow. "Can I help you?"

"Where'd you get your lipstick?" Danny asked, tapping the side of his mouth. He pre-empted any accusations that he might be teasing her, or something else by specifying his need before she could answer. "My friend Sam's been looking for black forever, but the closest she's found is dark purple."

"Oh," she said. She gave Danny a calculating look, and he waited patiently to be judged. He was deemed worthy. "Store at the mall caters to the goth crowd. They've got all sorts of stuff like hair dye and heavy-duty eye liner."

"It got a name?" Danny asked, rubbing under his nose. He ordered really quick when he realized it was his turn and the girl's friend was patiently beside her. He got his food and said, "Sorry, about that."

"No problem," she said. "Name's Clair, and this is Chad."

Chad said hello in a bright and cheerful manner before exclaiming that something or another was going on with the Teams. He said goodbye and dashed off in a hurry to catch the action.

"He like football?"

"He likes people. His friends are playing in the game and he wants to cheer for them." Clair said shrugging. She took a sip from the soda Chad had gotten her and nodded her head toward the fence. "You look about as interested in the game as I am. Wanna' ditch?"

"Long as we're back before the bus leaves," Danny laughed and took another bite of his hot dog. "Yes."

As Danny and Clair made their way to the fence, she looked him over and asked, "Let me guess? Friend dragged you here same way Chad dragged me?"

"There are a lot of things I could call Dash Baxter," Danny said, taking another bite of his hot dog. He chewed and swallowed. "But friend is not one of them."

"Then how did a not-friend talk you into coming?" Clair asked.

"He's the star quarterback and apparently during the last game between Casper High and New Salem High, we lost," Danny said. He shrugged and shoved the last of his hot dog in his mouth. He started talking before he was done chewing, mumbling the first few words. "Dash blamed the lack of a cheering crowd to motivate the team, so for this game he demanded that everyone in the school show up. Being my personal bully, he's sure to notice if I ditched his orders."

"Sounds rough," Clair said, sipping her soda. "I take it standing up to him doesn't work?"

"Just makes the bruises bigger," Danny snorted. "Trust me. I can pick my battles and spending a night out in the cold watching a game I don't care about it is better than a black eye."

"You tell your teachers?" She asked.

"Star quarterback," Danny answered.

Clair laughed, and Danny found her good conversation for the rest of the second quarter. She was a loner herself, and mostly kept Chad for company. Good student. Goth. Danny even found out she had a crush on some guy named Jackson, but he went to another school. By Half Time, he and Clair had exchanged numbers and he promised to get her in contact with Sam. Goths had to stick together and all that.

"It's been nice talking with you, Danny," Clair said, throwing her long empty cup away. "But I better get back before Chad sends out a rescue party."

"See ya," Danny said. He held up his phone and shook it in the air. "We can chat later."

"Right," she said. Clair waved before pulling her sleeves down of her hands and walking back toward the "Home" side of the field.

Danny yawned into his hand, and scratched the back of his hair. The night was half over, and that wasn't even including all the waiting and shuffling around he'd have to do trying to get back on the bus and waiting for the team to get all their gear packed. He blew out and brushed his bangs over his eyes.

It was just after he threw his hot dog wrapper away that his chest tightened and a foggy breath colder than the air left his mouth.

A ghost.

Slipping behind a portable toilet, Danny transformed and went invisible. He took to the air and surveyed the field for any sign of trouble. If it was his lucky night, it was just a passing spirit and he wouldn't have a fight on his hands. As if his night couldn't get any worse.

Danny flew around the entire perimeter of the school but had yet to spot anything glowing. He scrunched his nose watching the football teams run around on the field below and huffed. "Maybe it was a false alarm? It is cold outside."

"Ah! We're late!" A voice called out above him.

Danny looked up and spotted a teenage ghost with long purple hair and a black and pink dress. She was decked out in chains, and even had large iron balls attached to the heels of her shoes. She was was mostly solid, but her limbs translucent as they got down to the fingertips and toes. Danny rubbed his eyes when he looked at the girl with her: A ghost with bright pink hair and blue skin that…had no face!?

"It's already past Half Time, Kiyomi," the girl with the purple hair said. She looked down and Danny caught sight of bright blue eyes. She turned to the girl who must be Kiyomi and crossed her arms. "I was supposed to cover the entire game for my blog post!"

"I'm sure it's okay, Spectra," Kiyomi said. Danny flinched at the familiar name, but reminded himself that this girl with the purple hair was already nothing like the Spectra he knew. She waved down at the students, shaking the pink chains that were wrapped around her waist and floating in the air. "All the important stuff happens in the last half of the game, anyway."

"I guess that's right," Spectra said. She sighed and pulled out a laptop in the air. "But it still feels unprofessional. I want to be a real reporter, and that means not doing things half way!"

"I know," Kiyomi said. "But it'll be okay. We can find out what happened in the first half from another student, I'm sure. You can interview!"

"But we're not supposed to be here," Spectra said, sighing. "I know things are better between our schools, but they still have pretty strict curfews in place. We're pushing it as it is watching from up here, but Frankie and them really wanted to know what a Normie High school game was like."

"Right," Kiyomi said. "Even with how great Monster High is, I keep forgetting you share a town with Normies."

"Normie?" Danny said out loud. Both girls jerked up and looked in his direction with startled gasps. Seeing that neither of them appeared to be causing any trouble, he felt pretty safe going visible and holding his hands up. "Sorry! Sorry! Didn't mean to spy on you guys!"

"Oh! A another ghost!" Spectra said. She floated over and grinned. "My name is Spectra Vondergeist, and this is my friend Kiyomi Haunterly. We go to Monster High. You're new in town! Who are you? Where are you from? Do you go to school?"

Danny blinked at the rapid fire questions as the eager girl held her laptop at the ready. "Uh…"

"Forgive Spectra," Kiyomi said, chuckling into her hand. Danny watched her turn a soft shade of pink and she shrugged. "She's a reporter at heart. It never turns off."

"That's cool," Danny said, trying not to stare at Kiyomi's head. He could see a faint shadow showing contours of her face where a nose and mouth might be, but there was definitely no face there. It was so creepy, and Danny had met creepy ghosts. "Uh, my name's Danny. Danny Phantom."

"Nice to meet you, Danny Phantom!" Spectra said. "Are you here to watch the game?"

"Uh, yeah," Danny said, feeling it was a safe enough answer. "I'm from Amity Park, where Casper High is from."

"An out of town, ghost! It's fun to get around and visit, just like my friend Kiyomi here!" Spectra said. "She's visiting me at Monster High from Haunted High."

Danny looked between the two girls. Feeling a bit like a parrot, he repeated back the school names in a hopeful question. "Monster High and Haunted High? What are those?"

"Schools," Spectra said, lowering her laptop a little. "Monster High is an international high school for monsters and spirits of all types, while Haunted High is a school for ghosts. Don't you go to school?"

He did. A human school for humans. He'd never heard of the ghosts in the Ghost Zone having proper schools or educations. Let alone a school for…monsters? "Uh, no. The ghosts where I'm from don't really do the school thing. And did you say monsters?"

"Yeah, like werewolves, vampires, lake creatures, ghosts, phantoms, plant monsters—all sorts, really! You name it and Monster High will welcome them!" Spectra said. "It's a great place."

"Huh," Danny said. He crossed his arms and stared down at the two teams fumbling the ball back and forth. The crowds cheered and he whistled. "A school for monsters. How about that."

"And ghosts are quite welcome too," Spectra added. "If you might be feeling a little lonely for company. I know how hard it can be to make friends out there in the world. Our kind is hard to find on this side of the River Styx these days."

"Yeah," Danny said. A place where he could run around as Phantom and not get shot at. Make friends. It almost sounded too good to be true. However, Danny was only half-ghost, and the other half was already enrolled in Casper High, for better or for worse. "I'll think about it."

"Well, if you decide to check it out," Spectra said, pulling out a small phone shaped like a coffin. She tapped the screen a few times and asked, "Do you have a number?"

"A phone number?" Danny asked.

"Yes, I can text you the school's address," Spectra said. "So if you want to visit, you can show up any time. Headmistress Bloodgood is always welcoming to new students."

Danny gave her his number, and she grinned. He heard the chime of his phone a few minutes later, and he knew that Spectra's text was sitting next to one from Clair with the name of the store that had her lipstick. He was making all sorts of new friends tonight!

"There! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a game to cover!" Spectra said. She grabbed Kiyomi by the arm and floated down toward the field. The two of them turned invisible and she shouted back, "See you later, Danny!"

Danny waved and went invisible himself. He floated down to the field, and found a safe place under the bleachers to transform back. As he climbed back up to his seat, Danny considered the two ghost girls and his new friend Clair. He pulled his phone out as he sat down on the frozen bench and stared at the screen. Monster High was located in New Salem, too. Pretty close to where they were in fact.

He grinned and put his phone in his pocket. Maybe him, Sam and Tucker could arrange a little road trip in the near future. Sam could get her lipstick, and Danny could do a little exploring at a real Monster High School.

But until then, he had a game to watch.


	2. Chapter 2

_So, there was enough of a demand for another chapter, I figured it couldn't hurt. Honestly, the thought of Danny meeting Jackson in the future was enough of an incentive the longer I thought about it._

 _I've also decided that this takes place post "Ultimate Enemy", but before "Kindred Spirits." So, basically AU DP Universe post locking away Dan Phantom and Jasmine joining Team Phantom._

 _I'm also ending a few of the MH Canon rules for this, though. Specifically as they apply to the "No Haunting" rule. Doesn't quite work if DP & MH are the same universe. So we'll say it only applies to the students at Haunted High, with their headmistress as an odd exception for the sheer extent of her hauntings instead of an over-arching rule for all ghosts like it is in MH. Kay? Kay!_

* * *

 **Chapter 2**

"How did you three talk me into this again?" Jazz asked from behind the steering wheel of the car. "Because I know it's the weekend, but I'm sure you have home work you could be doing, or ghosts you should be fighting."

"I already told you, Jazz," Danny said from the shotgun seat. "And you were enthusiastic about the idea of a monster school. That apparently has a headmistress."

"I know, I know," Jazz said. She kept the car at an even pace as she drove Danny, Sam and Tucker back to New Salem for a day trip. Danny was never more grateful than now that his sister had a car. This would have been a nightmare if he had to ask his parents to drive. "Are you sure what they told you was right? What if it was a trap?"

"Some trap," Sam snorted from the back seat. She crossed her arms and stuck her feet out under the dash. "Come to school with us!"

"And it's not like Danny didn't do a little research of his own," Tucker added. He tapped his stylus against his PDA and had his nose glued to the screen. "He talked to Poindexter, didn't he?"

"Yeah," Danny said. He turned around and leaned over the edge of the back seat. "Guy said Haunted High was legit, so this Monster High place probably is, too."

When he'd first met the girls, the thought of a ghost school was ridiculous when he thought of all the chaos he'd seen in the Ghost Zone. But some time in the night after he'd gone to bed, Danny had shot up and remembered that he'd been wandering around a Ghost High School when he and Poindexter switched bodies. If there was one high school in the Ghost Zone, why not another?

Unable to sleep, Danny took a quick trip through the portal to ask the students there if they'd heard of the school Spectra and Kiyomi had mentioned.

"Oh, yeah, I know the place," Poindexter had said, crossing his arms. He rubbed behind his neck and shook his head. "They're a bit of a stickler for rules. Follow the rules or you get detention or worse."

"Worse?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, you know that one Christmas Carol story? Where Marley the ghost had all the chains?" Poindexter asked. Danny nodded back and he continued. "Same deal. You get detention, you get a 'Detention Chain' and have it hanging off you until you do your time. That's not my scene, man."

"And students voluntarily go there?" Danny asked.

"Well, the ones who want to learn do," Poindexter said. "You learn ghost history and how to use your powers and all that. It's sort of a trade off: Rules for knowledge."

"I suppose that seems fair," Danny said. Poindexter had avoided looking at him for a while, and Danny asked further. "Something else up about the school?"

"Yeah," Poindexter said. "It's right next to the River Styx. I don't know how any ghost can stand to be that close to that side of the Ghost Zone. I mean, there are Reapers who visit that school! I know no one's been snatched yet, but it's only a matter of time."

"Reapers?"

"You're on your own for that one, bub," Poindexter said, holding his hand up. "I've said too much already."

After that, Danny got similar answers after speaking to some of the other students and went home. They all knew about the Haunted High, but not the Monster One. Honestly, Danny's curiosity got the best of him, and here he was:

Having Jazz drive him, Tucker and Sam to New Salem to check it out.

"Are you sure you want to go visit this school alone, Danny?" Jazz asked. She took the New Salem exit and the highway soon disappeared into the small town streets of the little city. "I'm just worried that you might be getting in over your head."

"Which is why I invited you guys along," Danny said, sitting back forward in the seat. Jazz pulled into the parking lot of the New Salem Mall and turned off the car. Danny said, "Look, if anything happens I will call you guys. When I first met them, Spectra and Kiyomi seemed nervous about getting caught by the humans, so I don't know how they'll feel about you guys. I just want to check it out and see what's what before we all barge in there."

"You promise to get out if anything seems odd? Anything at all?" Jazz pressed.

"Danny can take care of himself, Jazz," Tucker piped up from the back. "It's a school, not a prison. Though, depending who you talk to that could be one in the same."

"Don't make things worse, Tucker," Sam said, smacking him lightly upside the head. He jerked and went back to his PDA before she turned to Danny. "Just send us a text with updates every thirty minutes and we won't come running in with the Fenton Thermos, okay?"

"That's the plan," Danny said, holding up his phone. He rubbed under his nose and laughed, "Besides, I already texted Spectra and told them I was coming. That's why we're here on a Saturday."

"They allow students in on weekends?" Jazz asked, scrunching her nose. "That's odd."

"Yeah, I thought so too," Danny said. He pushed open the car door and put his feet on the ground. He stretched before shutting the door and leaning on the side. "But she cleared it up. She said most of the students commute, but there's boarding available for exchange students and the like. That means stuff like the cafeteria, library and gym are open all week day and night."

"I suppose that makes sense," Jazz said. "What time do you need to meet them?"

"Soon," Danny said, checking the time on his phone. "I'm not sure how long it'll take, but I'll let you know if the tour she promised goes over a couple hours."

"You better," Jazz said.

"In the meantime, we'll do a little tour of the city," Sam said. She gave Danny a thumb's up. "We'll know this town inside and out in case something does happen and there's a chase."

"Good to know you guys have my back," Danny said. "But for now, I'm going ghost."

Danny ducked down behind the car door to transform out of sight, before going invisible and flying over the city. Jazz and the others waved to him, before turning to each other and pulling out a map of New Salem.

Knowing that was settled, Danny pulled out his phone and checked the conversation he'd had with Spectra. She'd sent him directions to get to Monster High from New Salem High and it seemed simple enough. The school was technically within the boundaries of the town, but blocked off from the regular population to avoid unnecessary conflict.

She'd said something about a Halloween going terribly wrong and a mob with pitchforks, but Danny had said he got the picture.

Humans and Monsters didn't mix.

"Not too different from humans and ghosts," Danny said to himself, thinking of his parents and the tense relations between the citizens of Amity Park and the ghosts. "But, no time for that now. I've got a school to find or I'm going to be late."

Danny found the school with ease, remembering where it was from the football game, and flew past it as instructed. When he got to a mass of woods and a large wall, Danny flew up and over. He glided along, noticing the area stayed fairly bright and well lit as he passed. Danny half expected everything to go lighting and thunder considering it was a school for monsters, but after another ten minutes of flying, Danny was greeted with a much friendlier sight:

A giant, old-century style building.

"Wow, now that is a school," Danny whistled as he flew around to the front. Three giant towers were built up from the columned front of the building, one on each end and a bigger one in the middle. The glass windows were in neat rows across the front, and he could see that the building extended far into the back. "It's huge!"

Danny flew higher to get a birds eye view of the entire campus and had to whistle. He crossed his arms and took in the football field and when he looked down. Curious, Danny flew down to peak into the windows as he passed by. He didn't see any students, but he did spot a giant library, a few stadium seating classrooms, and even an indoor pool! This school had everything, and it was all for monster kids?

His phone beeped as the alarm for the time he was supposed to meet Spectra arrived.

Danny sent a quick message to Sam that he'd arrived at the school, reassure her that it was indeed a school since he knew Jazz was going to ask, and snapped a quick photo to send her. He waited for the response before pocketing his phone.

At the front of the school was a giant archway with stairs leading up to the main doors. At the steps, he spotted Spectra and Kiyomi sitting with some other girls. From the air, they all looked pretty normal. It almost made him doubt what Spectra said about them being monsters. Almost. When Danny got closer, he noticed one of the girls was covered in fur.

He was in the right place.

As Danny flew up, Spectra stopped chatting with the fur-covered girl and turned. She said, "Ghouls! This is him!"

She flew up to meet him in the air and said, "Danny! I'm so glad you decided to come visit! Come meet my ghoulfriends!"

Spectra grabbed Danny's hand without further ado and dragged him down to the steps. The girls all stood up and Spectra helped herself to introductions.

"You already met Kiyomi, so I won't introduce her again, but these are some of the best ghouls I know and I just know you're going to love them!"

Danny nodded along as he floated in the air, trying not to stare too openly at the mass of girls waiting to meet him. All of them looked about his age, and most of them were smiling. And they definitely were not ghosts.

Spectra introduced them one by one as they stood in line.

The first girl was sitting next to Kiyomi. She was bright and cheery, loved hot pink, and practically vibrated in face with excitement to meet a new person. Her name was Draculaura, her boyfriend was named Clawd, and she was a Vegan Vampire.

"Not that you have to worry about that even if I didn't faint at the sight of blood," Draculaura said. Tapping her perfectly manicured nail against her chin. Danny caught sight of her fangs as she talked, at least backing up her claim of being a vampire. "I mean, you're a ghost. Ghosts don't have blood."

"We don't," Danny said, deciding for now to definitely keep his half-human side a secret.

Draculaura introduced the next girl as her best friend Clawdeen, the werewolf. She had big brown hair, sharp eyes, and held herself with the confidence of Dash Baxter, only nicer. Clawdeen wanted to be a fashion designer when she grew up, and said if anyone gave Danny a hard time to let her know.

He had a feeling that girl could back that statement up.

After Clawdeen came Lagoona Blue, a sea monster from Australia. She grinned at Danny and said she was the Swim Team captain and that he definitely needed to stop by to see a match.

"Trust me, it's like nothing you've ever seen," Lagoona said, winking. "Our pool is the best."

Danny met Ghoulia next, who grunted at him. He stared for a while as she moaned and made various noises before Clawdeen said, "I don't think he speaks Zombie, Ghoulia."

The grey-skinned girl in the cherry-print shirt adjusted her shirt and said something. Clawdeen nodded and said, "She's very pleased to meet you."

"Likewise," Danny said, holding his hand up. "Sorry I don't speak Zombie."

Ghoulia grunted with a shrug and a smile.

"Oh! My turn, my turn!" The green girl said. She had stitches across her face and various limbs. As she waved her arm in the air, one ripped and her hand flew off. Danny gaped as it hit the ground, but it soon popped up on its fingers and scurried back to the girl. She grinned and hit herself in the head. "I'm sorry! I'm always falling to pieces when I'm excited. My name is Frankie! Frankie Stein!"

"Frankie loves meeting new people," Draculaura said, gigging. "Because it means she's not the newest student any more!"

"Plus, it means all new friends I can make!" Frankie said. She reattached her hand before shaking Danny's. "Monster High is really the best. I do hope you'll consider coming to school here. They welcome everyone and making new friends you can count on is really the best."

"I believe you on that one," Danny said. "I've got some pretty great friends of my own that I know I wouldn't be anywhere without."

"That's the Monster High spirit!" Frankie said. "You'll already fitting in."

Spectra and Kiyomi laughed along with everyone else as Danny blushed and Frankie kept holding his hand. Danny looked around the group and spotted the last girl waiting. "And you are?"

"You don't know?" The girl said, aghast. She held a hand over her chest, and he spotted her covered in mummy bandages. Her skin was dark and her make up was heavy on the eye liner. She held her nose up. "How can you not know who I am? I'm a de Nile!"

"de Nile?" Danny asked.

"You know, Cleo de Nile, daughter of Ramses De Nile? I'm royalty!" Cleo said, putting both hands on her hips. "How could you not know?"

"Uh, when I was alive I was sort of a C-Student," Danny said, only telling a bit of a white lie. He was still alive, but he was a C-Student. "Didn't quite keep up with my history."

"Face it Cleo," Clawdeen snickered, covering her mouth. "You're famous in the monster world, but he hasn't been dead long it sounds like. There's no way he'd know who you are."

"Fine, I'll forgive him for now," Cleo said. She looked Danny over and stuck her nose in the air. The action reflected the sunlight off the gem on her cheek. "But what I won't forgive is his outfit. What in the name of Ra are you wearing?"

Danny dropped his shoulders as Cleo was immediately scolded by one of her friends. He couldn't help but laugh, doubling over and holding his stomach around the material of his hazmat suit.

This was definitely a high school.


	3. Chapter 3

_Oh, look. An update. Still not completely sure what to do with this. I have an idea of things I'd like to do in the future story wise, but getting there is part of the problem. Heh~ Ah well! On with the story anyway. xd_

* * *

 **Chapter 3**

"I can't get over how big your school is," Danny said, floating alongside Spectra. The rest of the girls walked below them, chatting quietly as they explored the relatively empty hallways. Every so often another student would walk by, minding their own business. A few paused to wave, a few didn't. "You even have classrooms with stadium seating."

"It has to be big with so many students," Spectra said. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears. "And we're accepting new students all the time."

"Sounds intense," Danny said.

"You'd think, but it's not really so bad," Frankie said, trotting up to Danny's side. He floated lower so she wouldn't have to look up so high to see him. "Everyone gets along really well, and despite the room size, we don't actually fill up all the seats."

"Still, it is pretty cool you guys have a place you can hang out together like this," Danny said. He laughed a little and rubbed under his nose. "Where I'm from, I can't exactly say that all the ghosts get along. Or rather, when they are working together it's usually for nothing good."

"That sounds rough, Danny," Clawdeen said. She crossed her arms over her chest and her hair bounced as she walked. "But at least you've got a few friends right? You mentioned that at the front gate."

"I do," Danny said. "I'd probably have gone crazy without them."

"Are they ghosts too?" Draculaura asked, walking side by side with Kiyomi. The two of them had pretty much glued to each other's sides the second they'd gotten into the school, and Danny had sworn he'd caught Kiyomi blushing as they walked together. Draculaura bounced a little as she walked. "Or are they some other kind of monsters?"

Danny bit his lip. Well, he'd been wanting to test the waters earlier and this was as good as a time as any, right? Right.

"They're not, uh dead. Or monsters." Danny paused when he received a few confused looks. He tried to smile innocently as he rubbed his arms. "My friends are humans. Uh, normal humans."

The group stared at him for a little too long, and Danny was convinced that he'd screwed up and probably should have kept that to himself but before he could get too deep into panic:

"That's great!" Frankie said, holding her hands up. "Human and Monster relations are always so tense, it's great to hear that you've got them! I mean, we have some human friends, too, in town, but we never get to see them because of all the agreements to stay on each other's side of the lines, so to speak."

If Danny breathed while he was a ghost, this is where he would have let out the sigh of relief.

"I'm glad to hear that, I was a little worried you guys might think that was too weird or something," Danny said. He laughed a bit, this time sounding a little more tired. "Though I wish I could say it was more widespread. The fact I'm friends with them is sort of a secret, because well, let's just say that ghosts aren't exactly welcome where I'm from."

"Oh, dear," Spectra asked. "In what way?"

"There are uh, ghost hunters," Danny said. The others definitely frowned at this, and he quickly rose his hands up. "But they're also kind of needed. A lot of the ghosts around my town _are_ really dangerous. The humans have to protect themselves, somehow right? It's just my luck that the good ghosts get mixed in with the bad."

"It still seems unfair to blame everyone," Clawdeen said.

"Well," Danny said. He shook his head and floated ahead a few feet. He wanted to salvage this anyway that he could. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Of course, Danny," Lagoona said. She smiled warmly, and said. "No reason to keep talking about it if it makes you uncomfortable, mate."

"Thanks," Danny said. He rubbed his hands together and looked around the school. "So, what else is there to see around this place?"

As it turned out, there had been a lot to see.

By the end of the day, Danny had seen all of the sights he'd scooped out earlier when he had flown around the school, including a trip to the cafeteria, the indoor pool, and a few of the classrooms. Most memorably, Danny had met the Headmistress around the time his visit was coming to a close.

"Hello Mr. Phantom," Headmistress Bloodgood said, shaking Danny's hand. Behind her stood a giant blue horse, named Nightmare. The beast whinnied, but mostly ignored what was going on around it. Danny tried not to stare. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Thank you for letting me visit, Ma'am," Danny said, squeezing her hand. "Your school is really something else."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," Bloodgood, said. She released his hand and stayed standing straight. It was times like this, Danny was glad that he could float, or he would have to look way, way up to see eye to eye with such a tall lady. "And as I'm sure you've been informed, we are accept new applicants year round."

"As nice as that sounds, I'm not sure I'll be able to transfer," Danny said, floating back a bit. There was no way his parents would let him transfer schools, especially if it involved monsters. Besides, he'd never want to leave Sam and Tucker behind. He didn't want to get away from Dash Baxter and ghost attacks that badly! Danny cleared his throat. "But it was nice to visit."

"Well, if you ever change your mind," Bloodgood said, "The offer is always open. But if you want something to help you make up your mind, we also have some lovely exchange programs where you could stay for a semester or a few months to try things out. I understand that new situations can always be scary, and it's nice to have a trial run."

"I'll keep that in mind," Danny said.

"Good to hear," Bloodgood said. It was then, that the small group heard a loud racket around the corner. "Oh, what is going on now?"

Danny looked around her shoulder just in time to see a boy with fire for his hair running straight for them. The young man was shouting something over his shoulder about being late for a television show, and that was when Danny saw the giant half-bull running next to him. A minotaur. This school had a minotaur, and whatever the heck the kid with fire-hair was.

The minotaur pulled ahead and shouted for the other to "Not be so slow!" The fire-head got to the group second, not paying the slightest bit of attention to where he was going in his hurry to catch up. He knocked into Headmistress Bloodgood, shoving her over. She flailed her arms out trying to keep her balance, but that wasn't what caught Danny's attention: Her head had popped off.

He was grateful he'd caught her head before he could think about what had just happened.

"Heath! What have I said about running in the hallways!" Bloodgood yelled, her head still in Danny's arms. He'd seen ghosts pop their heads off before, so it wasn't too odd, but this was different. Bloodgood's head was warm in his hands, and he could feel the blood pumping under her skin. She was so alive and in his hands and he was holding her very _alive_ head in his hands and—Bloodgood spoke up again, snapping Danny out of his panic. "Ah, thank you for catching me, but you can give my head back now."

Danny blinked, and looked over to the headless body holding her hands out, ready and waiting. He handed the head over to them, and Bloodgood put her head back on as easily as someone putting on a hat or a helmet.

She put her hands on her hips and huffed. "Those boys have too much, energy."

"Yeah," Danny said. "That happen often?"

"We try to encourage individuality in this school, so yes, more often than I'd like to admit," Bloodgood said. She smiled and looked her eyes over the group of girls behind him. "It's always a balancing act when you encourage students to be themselves, while also trying to maintain some sense of order. Isn't that right, ghouls?"

The group looked bashful, and Danny had a feeling that they probably caused as much trouble as those boys every so often.

The blaring of his phone ringing had everyone turn their head toward him. Danny chuckled and put up a hand. "I uh, should get that."

He turned away from the group, and clicked "Answer" just in time to hear Sam scream through the line. "Danny! You didn't check in! Are you okay?"

"Sam! Oh, oh man. I'm sorry! I lost track of time," Danny said quickly. "I'm okay. Really. Everyone's been really great."

"Good, but don't you ever forget to text us again, we almost came looking for you!" Sam said. "Who knows what sort of dangerous situation you could have been in knowing your luck!"

"You should thank Jazz for holding her back," Tucker said, his voice coming through the phone. He must have taken it from Sam. "She reminded us that you were forgetful, and she said the school looked too good to be a trap from the picture you sent."

"I'm sorry guys, but yeah, I'll be back soon, okay?" Danny said. They said their goodbyes, and Danny clicked the phone off. He turned around and saw the group staring at him. "Uh, something wrong?"

"Did that girl say something about danger?" Draculaura asked, looking confused. "Didn't you tell them where you went?"

"As embarrassing as it is to say, I did," Danny said. He put his phone up and rubbed the side of his neck. "Like I said, where I'm from more often than not, the ghosts and monsters aren't exactly nice. Or safe to be around. So, I really can't blame them for wanting to be cautious."

"I'm sorry that's the situation you've been dealing with, Danny," Headmistress Bloodgood said. She put her hand on Danny's shoulder and squeezed. "But I do understand. There's been a lot of miscommunication between out two worlds, and both sides have their share of less than savory individuals. But I do hope that your stay here has at least proven that there are those like yourself that you can rely on."

"Yes, ma'am," Danny said. He smiled under her touch and looked to the other girls. He held his hand up and waved. "The tour's been fun, guys, but I think that phone call was my cue to get back home now."

"Aw, I hate to see you go already Danny!" Frankie said. "There's so many other students we'd love for you to meet!"

"Including quite a few other ghosts," Spectra said, nudging his shoulder. "Our school even has a banshee attending."

"A banshee? Wow, that's something," Danny said. He floated back waving, and paused. "I know this might be forward since I don't think Ill be attending, but do you think I might be able to come visit some time in the future?"

"Absolutely!" Frankie said. She grabbed Danny's hand and shook it up and down. "We'd love to see you again! Even for just a visit! Oh! Oh! You should come on a school day so you can meet everyone properly!"

"I'll see if I can't swing that," Danny said, though he doubted it. He missed classes sometime to fight ghosts, but he wasn't sure he could get away with missing an entire day. "I'll see you guys later."

"Don't be a stranger, Danny!" Spectra called as he started to fly toward the ceiling. She waved he phone and pointed at it. "Text any time!"

"I will!" Danny said.

He went intangible and flew through the roof, giving the school one more look over as he hovered in the air. It had been pretty cool seeing all the facilities that the building had to offer, and he'd be lying if the idea of hanging out with so many nice monsters wasn't cool in its own way. And he really didn't get to hang out as Phantom this long without someone making fun of him for being a halfa.

Danny bit the edge of his lip, and remembered that Bloodgood had mentioned an exchange. He couldn't abandon Amity Park to the ghosts forever. But maybe a month couldn't hurt…

"What am I thinking?" Danny smacked his cheeks. "I'd never get that past my parents."

Unless he had Jazz come up with a good excuse.

Danny grinned to himself and shot off toward the town proper, his mind whirling with ideas. Maybe if Jazz helped him out, he really could spend a month at the Monster school!


	4. Chapter 4

_As most of you MH fans know, the series reboot is officially out! And I have to say it, Welcome to Monster High was pretty great. I enjoyed it quite a bit from the new animation to the better story telling style (Whether you like Draculaura or not, having the main focus be on a single character instead of juggling three to four equal plots worked really well)._

 _This fic will be staying in pre-reboot land, but I do hop you guys check out the new movie if you get a chance._

 _(And yes, I worked in an Invisi Billy joke. That was the plan before anyone made the comment in a review. :P)_

* * *

 **Chapter 4**

"Absolutely not, Danny," Jazz had said immediately upon the suggestion. "A month is far too long for you to try and hide being half-human."

"It's not like they'd be watching me all the time," Danny argued back, pouring milk into his cereal.

"Still too risky," Jazz said. She bit into her toast and kept her eyes on the door to the basement. Their parents were working downstairs and it wouldn't do for anyone if they caught wind of the conversation going on upstairs. "I just want you to be careful, and even though they seem friendly enough, we can't risk them accidentally telling someone else about you. You know?"

"All of the Amity Park ghosts know who I am and they keep it a secret."

"Mom and dad spend all their time shooting those ghosts, not listening to them," Jazz said. She crossed her arms and frowned. "I know you're excited Danny, but let's think about it for a little longer."

"I guess you're right," Danny said, putting his chin in his hand. "Still though. It was nice getting to hang out in ghost mode without someone shooting at me."

Jazz nodded and bit the side of her lip. She tilted her head and asked, "Do you know if Monster High has the same vacation days as the human world?"

Danny looked up from breakfast. "I don't know. Why?"

"Well, we have a fall break coming up on Friday, right?" Jazz asked. She pulled out her phone and opened the calendar. "That means you'll have the day off from school, and if they're still in session, it means you could visit them when everyone is there and you wouldn't miss any classes."

Jazz had a point. And Spectra and the others had invited Danny over to visit on a school day. It wasn't a month trip, but if Jazz was okay with a visit, Danny would more than take that compromise. "What about the ghosts in Amity Park?"

"I'm sure that Tucker, Sam and myself can handle it," Jazz said. She nodded her head to the basement and smiled. "And if not us, don't forget mom and dad can handle themselves when it matters."

"In that case, I think I'll call Spectra and see if it's a good time to visit," Danny said, tugging out his phone.

He had sent the text and was waiting on a reply when his dad came up from the basement carrying a heavy box of equipment. Jack dumped it on the counter without a care and brushed his hands off.

"What's got you glued to your phone, Danny-boy?" Jack asked, ruffling Danny's hair as he stopped by. "Waiting for a call back from a girl, maybe?"

"Yes," Danny said. His dad grinned and lifted an eyebrow and Danny blushed. "A friend, dad! A friend!"

"Sure," Jack said. "What'd you ask her?"

"She's a girl I met when I was at the football game," Danny said. "I'm seeing if she can hang out on our day off this Friday."

"That's great," Jack said. "You really should get out more."

Danny nodded and his phone buzzed with a response. He tapped the screen and did a fist pump. "Yes, she said it was okay!"

"That's awesome, Danny," Jazz said. "I'll be happy to drive you."

"Ah, my kids, all grown up," Jack Fenton said. He smiled and waved. "I'll let your mother know you'll be gone Friday."

"Thanks, dad," Danny and Jazz said together, before giving each other a high five.

The next two school days passed in a blurr as Danny waited anxiously for Friday to arrive and for once, he was happy to be up early. Jazz and him left at the same time, but she waved Danny goodbye as he went ghost and prepared to fly to the town next door alone. Jazz's cover of saying she was driving gave her the perfect opportunity to spend the entire day with Tucker and Sam watching the town for ghosts.

Sending a "Have fun!" message to Tucker and Sam was the last thing Danny did before he took to the skies and made a quick trip to New Salem, and Monster High.

As it turned out, Danny arrived along with most of the other students as they made their way up the main stairwell to the entrance of the school. He tapped down on the ground in the midst of them, checking his phone for where he was to meet Spectra and Kiyomi.

"Hey, Invisi Billy! How're you doing?" A voice called behind Danny's head.

He nearly grit his teeth. All the way in New Salem and that blasted nickname was still following him. And this was the last straw.

Danny spun around and shouted, "That's not my name!"

"Uh sure, dude," A boy next to him laughed. "But it is mine."

"What?" Danny asked, the anger dropping off of him.

A boy with blue skin, wearing a black hoodie and capri pants chuckled at Danny. He shifted the blue beanie on his head before holding his hand out for a shake. Danny took it, trying not to blush in embarrassment.

"My name is Invisi Billy," the blue boy said, releasing Danny's hand. He turned invisible and back again before holding his hand out. He pointed to his friend, a girl with green skin, pure white eyes and black hair. She was wearing a green tank top with a short black skirt. "And this is my friend Scarah Screams. You must be new, right?"

"Yes. I'm Danny Phantom," he said. He rubbed the back of his head and bit his lip. "Sorry about the shouting. Back home all the humans got it in their head my name was 'Inviso-Bill' and they wouldn't stop calling me that. I guess that was a reflex reaction."

"Harsh," Invisi Billy said, wincing as if he understood. "At least here that shouldn't be a problem."

"Oh!" Scarah said, clapping her hands together. "You're the new ghost Spectra was talking about, right? She was telling me about you last week!"

Danny nodded. "I was supposed to be meeting her before classes started. She said I could shadow her today in classes, just to see the school when it was in motion."

"She wouldn't stop talking about it," Scarah said. "There aren't many ghosts here at the school, so she's always happy to have a new addition to our little club."

"You're a ghost?" Danny asked, looking over Scarah again. Aside from the pupil-less eyes, she looked pretty solid.

"Banshee," Scarah said. She held her hand up, fading it slightly to translucent. "I can stay corporeal near all the time. Bit of a perk, but sometimes it's annoying when people can't tell what sort of ghoul I am."

"Yeah, I couldn't tell at all," Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck. He really hadn't been able to tell. If Scarah was a ghost, she was one who didn't set off his ghost senses. He wondered how many other specters and ghost types he might meet who could do the same? Danny smiled. "Not that it's a bad thing."

"Well, it was nice meeting you, but school starts soon, so you'd best go meet Spectra sooner than later," Scarah said. She waved and grabbed Invisi Billy (Danny was never going to get over a real person having that name) and dragged him toward the steps to the school.

Danny floated a few feet up and flew over the heads of the students, and no one even blinked at him. A few waved, but for the most part his flying was accepted as normal. And that in itself made the entire day trip today worth it.

As he made his way to the stairs, he saw all sorts of different students from werecats to slime monsters and even a tall yeti girl with fangs and snow white hair. The sheer variety of sizes, types and personalities of students was near overwhelming.

His ghost breath alerted him to Spectra and Kiyomi as he found them sitting by a bush near the main stairs. Danny waved and they greeted him.

"It's so good to see you, Danny! I hope you don't mind, but I posted that you were visiting on my blog!" Spectra said. She turned her laptop around, the browser screen had pulled up her post. "Just to let everyone know you'd be around."

Kiyomi patted Danny on the shoulder, her body turning pink (and he still wasn't used to her lack of a face; it was still creepy, no matter how sweet and soft spoken the girl was). Kiyomi tilted her head. "I tried to stop her, but Spectra and her blog are not to be parted."

"Sounds intense," Danny said.

"You should save the link," Spectra said, giggling. "It'll keep you all up to date on the goings and out goings of Monster High from the latest news to the gossip you want to read!"

"Stop advertising, Spectra," Kiyomi said, softly. "We're going to be late for class."

"Right! Let's go!" Spectra said. She laced her arm through Danny's and tugged him toward the main building wall, her ghostly chains clinking together. They phased through the wall in time and made their way to a stadium class. "You're in luck that Mr. Rotter is teaching the main classes today. Dead Languages class is sort of boring, but he's a Phantom, too! Isn't that fangtastic for your visit?"

"Sure," Danny said. For someone who said there weren't many ghosts here, Danny already knew about four. But then again, Danny looked around the hallways, he had counted twenty zombies already. So maybe it was relative. "I'm looking forward to it."

Danny should have held his tongue.

Mr. Rotter was easily the most boring teacher Danny had ever had the liberty of meeting. Even his zombie-like appearance with the green skin, the large old brown coat, and the missing nose were only interesting for the first minute. The second he started droning on about some old Mummy language, Danny wanted to go back to his own classes at his normal school.

Even Lancer's English class was better than this!

Spectra giggled at his side when his head hit the desk, and she nudged him with her elbow. She leaned over and whispered, "I know, it's kind of boring, but at least break is soon."

"Are you two talking back there?" Mr. Rotter asked, immediately zeroing in on Danny and Spectra. "I know we have a guest today, but that's no excuse for not paying attention!"

Frankie and Draculaura giggled from down in the front row, turning to wave up at Danny and Spectra. He waved back as the rest of the room stared at him and he sunk in his seat.

"We understand, Mr. Rotter!" Spectra said, holding up her hand. "Won't happen again!"

"Good," Mr. Rotter said. "Now, as I was saying, this language was last used…"

If felt like an eternity had passed, but thankfully, lunch came soon enough and Danny was accosted by all of the ghouls he'd first met when he came the last time. They'd all gathered at a lunch table in the back, essentially taking over a corner of the cafeteria.

"I know class wasn't the most interesting, but how are you liking the school otherwise, Danny?" Spectra asked, sipping from a soda.

"It's crazy how many different monsters are here," Danny said, looking around the room. "I remember what you told me, but seeing it is surreal. There's only ghosts back in Amity Park."

"But that's like, not a bad thing, right?" Draculaura asked, digging her spoon into a pudding.

"No, it's neat," Danny admitted. "There's even new ghost types here I haven't seen before. He pointed at Scarah across the room. "For example, I've never met a banshee before this morning."

"Nor an invisible boy, I'd imagine," Lagoona said. She whispered across the table at Danny's look. "They just hooked up last week. There was no way she walked to school alone."

Before Danny could answer, a rather normal looking boy came up to the table. He had on thick glasses and had short black hair with frosted blonde tips. He had on a sweater vest in black and white checks over a yellow shirt (that was half untucked) and had on a green bow-tie of all things. He looked like the sort of nerd Dash would eat for breakfast.

"Hey, Frankie," the boy said, voice high-pitched and light. He tugged on his khaki pants, his sneakers rubbing the ground. "Did you still want to hang out after school?"

"Of course, Jackson," Frankie said. She sat up straighter, blushing a bit. She twisted her finger in her hair. "You still want to go to the movies?"

"Yeah," Jackson said. He winced and adjusted his glasses. "As long as you don't mind if I wear headphones and just read the subtitles. I heard there's a lot of music in this one."

Frankie nodded, her smile strained. "Of course. Holt might be too much for a movie theatre."

The boy sighed in relief and touched his chest. "Thanks for agreeing. I know you like seeing him too, but it's so crowded and he's so…loud."

The boy seemed to feel Danny's stare on his chest and he turned and jerked. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I should introduce myself! I'm Jackson Jekyll."

"It's nice to meet you," Danny said. He scanned over Jackson but he couldn't see any features that might indicate what sort of monster he was. The name certainly rang a bell, but would that even count?

"Jackson's half-normie," Frankie filled in, as if sensing Danny's confusion. "His mother is a normie, and his father is a fire elemental. You met his cousin Heath the other day. The boy who ran into Mistress Bloodgood and knocked her head off."

Fire elemental. At least now he knew what the kid with fire hair was.

Jackson shrunk in on himself, shoulders drawn in. He licked the side of his lip and winced. "Whenever I hear music, I uh, transform into Holt, a fire elemental like my cousin Heath. He's loud and obnoxious, but he's a good DJ, I guess. I don't really like being him."

"Oh, come on, Jackson," Frankie said, touching his hand. She squeezed it and made an attempt to sound encouraging, though it sounded strained. "Holt's not that bad! You're both great in your own ways."

"Still," Jackson said, sounding bitter. "I'd rather stay me, if you don't mind."

The two started to chat quietly and Lagoona leaned over discreetly, whispering in Danny's ear. "Don't mind them. Frankie has a crush on both Jackson and Holt, so it causes some tension because neither Holt nor Jackson like the other one very much. It's sort of a mess at times."

"I can't imagine having two personalities in one body that hate each other," Danny said, thinking back to when he had split into both "Danny" and "Phantom" so long ago. That had been a disaster and those two had at least tolerated each other. "Is that why he doesn't want to transform? Holt won't turn back into him?"

"More or less, whatever side is in control tries to keep it for as long as possible," Spectra filled in.

Danny crossed his arms on the table as Jackson waved goodbye to Frankie and headed across the room. He joined up with a boy wearing sunglasses and had snakes for hair (a gorgon, right?) and they walked out together. The gorgon boy threw his arm around Jackson's shoulder and gave him a half squeeze.

At least the kid had some friends it looked like.

"That was Deuce," Cleo said, looking up from her make up compact. "The boy with Jackson you were staring at. He's my boyfriend."

"Noted," Danny said.

The rest of the lunch hour passed quietly, though Danny's thoughts were stuck on Jackson. The boy was half-normie, which wasn't all that different from Danny on some level. It sounded like Holt was a fire elemental, so Jackson must physically transform in some way too.

If the school was accepting of Jackson and Holt, than maybe Danny wouldn't have to hide after all. But until he was sure, Danny was going to keep that secret to himself.

Besides, he still had the second half of the day to experience. Who knew who he'd meet next?


End file.
